Military Cross recipient and Vietnam vet talks at club

VIETNAM veteran, author and Vietnam Battlefield guide, Lt Col Gary McKay (MC) Retired will be giving an address at Lismore Workers' Club at the end of the month.

Gary McKay was conscripted into National Service in 1968. After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, he saw active service in South Vietnam in 1971 as a rifle platoon commander with 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

He was severely wounded in the battle of Nui Le and returned to Australia where he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. He was the last Australian to receive the award.

Colonel McKay stayed in the Regular Army with a permanent commission and commanded at company and battalion level as commanding officer of 8/9RAR.

Mr McKay is arguably Australia's most prolific author on the Vietnam War, having written 14 books on that subject.

Archaeologist, Michael Bendon will speak after Mr McKay and discuss items of interest to current and former RAN members.

Dr Bendon has worked in Germany, Greece, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Portugal and Turkey. As part of his current project at Crete, he found the wrecks of two Royal Navy World War II ships, identified as having ferried over a thousand Australian troops from Greece before being sunk.